SAMUDRA News Alert Special: Marine Protected Areas
23 May 2008-9:00 PM IST
- At CBD meet, fishers' groups decry expanding marine protected areas without prior, informed consent of fishing communities
Two groups representing fisherfolk and fishworkers around the world have expressed deep concern about the global emphasis on expanding marine protected areas (MPAs). without considering the prior, informed consent of coastal communities and the need to integrate the scientific, technical and technological knowledge of local and indigenous communities.
This view was expressed in a Statement on Agenda Item 4.9: Marine and coastal biodiversity of the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), currently going on in Bonn, Germany, by the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP) and the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF).
The Statement, delivered on 23 May 2008 by Naseegh Jaffar of WFFP, pointed out that "small-scale fishing communities are keenly aware of the need to conserve and sustainably use fisheries resources, and can be critical allies in the conservation of coastal and marine biodiversity. It is highly unfortunate, therefore, that the setting up of MPAs in many countries of the developing world has displaced, excluded and alienated fishing communities, and violated their basic rights to life and livelihood, as some recent studies undertaken by us have indicated."
Expressing deep concern about the emphasis on expanding marine areas under protection, the Statement urged delegates to "adhere to principles of prior, informed consent and prioritize the implementation of Programme Element 2 of the Protected Area Programme of Work on Governance, participation, equity and benefit sharing (of the CBD) before undertaking any such expansion."
"We are also concerned about the confusion created by the use of non-legal terms like ‘open waters’ and ‘deep-sea habitats’. Should this be understood to mean areas beyond the continental shelf, that also includes areas within national jurisdiction, we strongly feel that the ecological criteria that have been developed to identify marine areas in need of protection, must be further developed to integrate local and traditional knowledge, as well as social and cultural aspects. In many countries, areas beyond the continental shelf are fished by small-scale and indigenous fishing communities." the Statement added.
Drawing from this, the Statement urged for the inclusion of a new para as follows (between para 20 and 21): “Calls on Parties to integrate the scientific, technical and technological knowledge of local and indigenous communities (in keeping with Article 8(j) of the Convention), and to ensure the integration of social and cultural criteria, for the identification of marine areas in need of protection.”
The signatories to the Statement concluded by joining "other Parties and organizations in calling for a ban on ocean fertilization." The Statement can be accessed at the ICSF website at www.icsf.net
In a Side Event at the CBD meet on 21 May, ICSF organized a discussion on fishing-community perspectives on MPAs, drawing on experiences from Indonesia, Honduras, Brazil, India, South Africa, Mexico, Thailand and Tanzania.
Studies undertaken by ICSF on fishing-community experiences of MPA implementation in six countries to were also launched at the Side Event. These studies can also be accessed at mpa.icsf.net
Source: ICSF/WFFP